Sweden's corona strategy has been discussed extensively internationally and when Foreign Minister Ann Linde visits SVT's Morning Studio, she is asked if there is a risk that the image of Sweden has been damaged.

- It is important to know what you are talking about. If you look at the Swedish Institute's very careful analyzes of what the image of Sweden looks like, it is actually quite neutral, she answers the host.

"Not the same"

But when SVT Nyheter reaches the Swedish Institute to ask about the analyzes, it appears that they have not been done yet. The analyzes that exist are those that show how international media reported on Sweden - something that is not usually connected with the image of Sweden.

- The image of Sweden and the image of the media are not the same thing. When we look at the image of Sweden, we not only look at media reporting, but we do surveys of how the population in other countries perceives in different themes and areas. We do not see an obvious connection between the media image and the image of Sweden, says Sofia Bard, acting head of the Swedish Image Unit.

Not affected by media

The media image of Sweden has so far been neutral during the pandemic. But that does not mean that the image of Sweden will show the same results. Previous analyzes of the image of Sweden from before the pandemic indicate that the international perception of Sweden has been very stable and is not much affected by the media.

At the same time, Bard says that Sweden has never been so intensively monitored during the 10 years that the institute has followed the image of Sweden:

- Whether this situation has affected the image of Sweden, it is too early for us to say.

"The image has been neutral"

Foreign Minister Ann Linde's press secretary Andreas Enbuske emphasizes that it was precisely the media image that the Foreign Minister referred to.

- Every week and quarter, the Swedish Institute presents statistics on the image of Sweden in the media abroad. It was these analyzes that the Foreign Minister referred to. According to these analyzes, with a few weeks' exception, the image of Sweden in foreign media has been largely neutral.

The Swedish Institute's investigation of how the image of Sweden was affected during the corona spring will be carried out this autumn.